MLB has suspended a Cleveland Guardians international prospect after uncovering an elaborate false identity plot orchestrated by his trainer. Investigations revealed faked school records, medical documents, and a manufactured gravesite intended to mask the switch-hitting infielder’s true age and identity.
The Cleveland Guardians thought they had secured a promising international free agent when they agreed to a $2.8 million deal with a switch-hitting infielder in December of last year, according to reporting by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. Under the handshake agreement, the deal was not scheduled to become official until 2029, when the prospect would become eligible to sign. Instead, the agreement unraveled following an investigation by Major League Baseball that exposed a cinematic scheme involving falsified documents and a fabricated death.
MLB Investigation Uncovers Fake Death Certificate and Tombstone
The probe revealed that the player’s handler engineered an intricate network of deception to push his age down by nearly two years. According to sources cited by ESPN, the plot involved manufacturing a birth certificate to establish a brand-new identity, altering medical and school files, and filing a fraudulent death certificate.
Investigators found that two years after the player’s actual birth registration, a fraudulent filing claimed that Daury David Severino Damaso had died of a respiratory illness on May 5, 2012. To sell the deception, a fake tombstone was created and planted in a gravesite located in La Romana, a municipality in the southeastern Dominican Republic situated 75 miles away from Santo Domingo.
Trainer Francisco Nieves and the True Identity of Daury Severino Damaso
The player at the center of the controversy is actually named Daury David Severino Damaso. According to sources, his trainer, Francisco Nieves, set up the fake persona that allowed him to masquerade as David Severino Damaso, the player the Guardians believed they were signing to a multi-million-dollar commitment.
Age and identity fraud have long run rampant within the international scouting market, but industry observers note that the creation of a fake gravesite scene ranks among the wildest tactics ever uncovered by league investigators. While the plot has thrown the infielder’s professional future into uncertainty, ESPN reported that the Cleveland Guardians will not face any disciplinary action from MLB regarding the agreement.
Suspension and the Collapsed Value of a $2.8M Prospect
Following the findings of the investigation, Major League Baseball suspended the switch-hitting infielder over the falsified credentials.
While the initial handshake deal carried a $2.8 million price tag, one scout interviewed by ESPN estimated that the player will likely command a deal worth roughly $10,000 if he signs in the future, a steep drop from the figures initially agreed upon with the Guardians.
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